Developing autonomous language learners in HE : a social constructivist perspective

Developing autonomous language learners in HE so graduates learn to learn in order to adapt and be employable in a fast moving environment has become a key feature of many Higher Education provision in the 21st Century, including the UK (Dearing 1997). In this chapter, I explore through a case study of advanced language learners how learner autonomy might be identified and developed in practice, within a formal HE environment. Based on a social constructivist conception of learner autonomy which recognises the importance of affect in the development of autonomous language learners, the study highlights the emotional and relational dimension of the learning process within a social context which has been a neglected dimension in adult language teaching and learning theories (MacIntyre 2002).